Broom device

ABSTRACT

An improved broom device for a vehicle having a broom pivotably supporting a member such as a scoop which device comprises a broom mounted on the end of a drive shaft, a structure rotatably supporting the shaft and detachably mounted on the side of the bucket and a hydraulic motor mounted on the supporting structure and connected by conduits to a hydraulic control device disposed at the operating position of the vehicle. The supporting structure preferably includes means for adjusting the orientation of the shaft in a plane extending perpendicular to the side of the bucket so that adjustments in the supporting structure along with pivoting of the bucket on the boom structure can vary the cant and pitch of the broom as the bucket is raised or lowered to enable sweeping surfaces at various elevations up to 8 feet above the surface supporting the vehicle.

United States Patent [191 Lehman 1 Dec.2,1975

[54] BROOM DEVICE Gerhard H. Lehman, Chicago, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Elgin Sweeping Services, Inc., Chicago, Ill.

[75] Inventor:

22 Filed: Feb. 14, 1974 21 Appl.No.:442,499

Primary ExaminerEdward L. Roberts Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hill, Gross, Simpson, Van Santen, Steadman, Chiara & Simpson [57] ABSTRACT An improved broom device for a vehicle having a broom pivotably supporting a member such as a scoop which device comprises a broom mounted on the end of a drive shaft, a structure rotatably supporting the shaft and detachably mounted on the side of the bucket and a hydraulic motor mounted on the supporting structure and connected by conduits to a hydraulic control device disposed at the operating position of the vehicle. The supporting structure preferably includes means for adjusting the orientation of the shaft in a plane extending perpendicular to the side of [56] References Cited the bucket so that adjustments in the supporting struc- UNITED STATES PATENTS ture along with pivoting of the bucket on the boom 3,104,406 9/1963 Rhodes 15/21 R Structure can the and Pitch of the broom as 2 935 3/1966 ungeheueru 5/21 R the bucket is raised or lowered to enable sweeping 3,439,372 4/1969 Collier 15/21 R Surfaces at various l v tions up to 8 feet above the FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Surface Suppmtmg the 1,951,107 4/1971 Germany l5/D1G. 2 8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 7.9 22 20 a 26 27 I7 14 5 77 f6 23 v U.S. Patent Dec. 2, 1975 3,922,745

20 a Flg. 1 27 \I Fig.4

BROOM osvrcs BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to a broom device which is detachably mounted on a member such as a bucket supported by a boom structure on a vehicle such as a tractor.

2. Prior Art Brooms for sweeping surfaces such as streets are well known in the art. An example of an early embodiment is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 1,328,237 which issued to Potter on Jan. 30, 1920 and discloses a broom rotating on an axis substantially horizontal to the surface being swept. To improve the dislodging of accumulation of dirt or debris which occurred in the gutter, many highway or street sweeping devices include a gutter sweeping broom whose bristles form a sweeping surface extending substantially perpenciular to the axis of rotation. These gutter sweeping brooms are usually mounted on a short lever arm or are supported by a crank and chain assembly both of which allow raising and lowering of the broom a short distance from a broom sweeping position to a position for travel without sweeping. Examples of various structures for mounting this type of broom are disclosed in US. Pat. Nos. 2,996,742; 3,102,293; 3,186,016, and 3,491,395.

Brooms having a structure such as gutter brooms or sweepers have also been used for debanking a surface. A debanker, which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,066,745 which issued to Smith et al on Dec. 4, 1962, discloses a broom supported on an arm which is mounted on a tractor. The arm can be pivoted to raise and lower the broom so that the sweeping surface assumes the desired angle to a horizontal plane. While various structures have been disclosed for sweeping highways and particularly gutters there has existed a problem of mechanically sweeping surfaces or areas which are elevated above the gutter or street level. Examples of these surfaces are sidewalks, walkways. hubrails, barrier curbs, J-gutters, and all of these structures may have a surface at a height of up to eight feet above the level or grade of the highway. At present, these surfaces are swept manually which. consumes large amounts of man hours to cover a given area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a broom device adapted for mounting on a support structure of a vehicle for sweeping surfaces which are at an elevation of up to eight feet above the surface on which the vehicle is supported and which device is capable of rapidly sweeping elevated surfaces such as walkways, hub rails, barrier curbs and lgutters.

To accomplish these features, the present invention provides a broom device for use on a vehicle which has a frame, a boom structure mounted for pivotable movement on the frame of the vehicle and supporting a member for pivotal movement on a free end of the boom structure which includes means to pivot the boom structure relative to the vehicle to raise and lower the member and means to pivot the member about a pivot axis relative to the boom structure. The broom device comprises a broom mounted on an end of a drive shaft. means attached to the member for mounting the drive shaft for rotation and means supported on the mounting meansfor rotating the shaft and broom so that raising and lowering of said member by said boom structure enables sweeping surfaces located at different elevations relative to the surface on which the vehicle is supported and pivoting of said member relative to said boom structure enables changing the angle of the sweeping surface of the broom relative to the surface being swept. Preferably, the member is a scoop or bucket and the boom structure is a structure for supporting the scoop or bucket relative to the vehicle such as a tractor and the means for mounting the drive shaft and broom is attached to a side of the bucket and is adjustable to enable changing the angle of the drive shaft relative to the side of the bucket. The means for rotating the drive shaft and broom is prefe rably a hydraulic motor which is connected to a hydraulic source of the vehicle which is provided with a separate hydraulic output for moving the boom structure and for controlling the orientation of the bucket relative thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a perspective view of the broom device of the present invention mounted on a vehicle;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the broom device of the present invention mounted on the side of a bucket or scoop;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the use of the broom device for sweeping an elevated surface; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic presentation of a hydraulic system for operating the broom device of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The principles of the present invention are particularly useful when incorporated in a broom device generally indicated at 10 and illustrated in FIG. 1. The broom device 10 is used with a vehicle generally indicated at 11, which vehicle for illustrative purposes is illustrated as a tractor. The vehicle or tractor 11 has a frame 12 with an upstanding frame member 13 attached to each side of the frame 12 between the front and rear wheels and adjacent the operator position 14. Each of the frame members 13 is provided with a pivotable mounting pad 15.

As illustrated, the broom device 10 is attached to a side or side wall 16 of a member 17 which is illustrated as a scoop or bucket. To support the scoop or bucket on the vehicle or tractor 11, the bucket 17 is pivotably connected by pins 18 to a free end of a boom structure generally indicated at 19 which in turn is pivotably mounted on the frame. As illustrated, the boom structure which pivotably supports the bucket 17 is a conventional scoop structure which comprises a pair of rigid arms composed of a pair of arm elements 20 and 21 rigidly connected together by plates 22 with the free end of the arm element 20 on each side pivotably connected to the mounting pad 15. To raise and lower the boom structure, a pair of hydraulic cylinders 23 extend from each plate 22 to a pad 24 at the base of the upstanding member 13 of the frame 12. To pivot the bucket 17 on the free end of the pair of arms 21, at least one hydraulic cylinder 26 is provided. To control the actuation of each of the hydraulic cylinders 23 and 26, a control box 27 is mounted next to the operator station 14 of the vehicle 11 and the box 27 is connected by hoses or conduits (not illustrated) to each of the cylinders 23 and 26 and to a hydraulic pump and reservoir provided on the tractor. The above described boom structure for supporting a scoop and the hydraulic controls for raising and lowering the scoop and pivoting the scoop on the boom structure are conventional and also commercially available.

As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the broom device includes a broom 28 which is shown as being formed by a plurality of broom or brush segments 29 detachably mounted as circular plate 30 which is rigidly attached to a drive shaft 31 by a mounting plate 32 by appropriate bolts or fastening elements. Each of the broom segments 29 has an arcuate shaped backing member 33 with the plurality of bristles 34 extending therefrom to form a substantially planar sweeping surface having a circular configuration. While the broom 28 is illustrated as being formed of broom segments which may be replaced when worn, any circular broom structure can be utilized.

The drive shaft 31 with the broom 28 is supported for rotation by support or mounting means generally indicated at 35. The support means comprises a base 36 which is a channel shaped member which has a plate 37 welded across one end and the base is provided with a plurality of mounting brackets or tabs 38. The means also includes an inner channel or member 39 which has a first arm 40 welded adjacent an upper end thereof, an element 41, an adjustable arm 42 and an adjustable brace 43. As illustrated, the base 36 is attached to a side or side wall 16 of the bucket 17 in an appropriate manner such as by bolts extending through the brackets 38 and receives the inner channel 39 in a nested relationship. The element 41 is also a channel member which has aligned holes for receiving a pin member or bolt 44 for pivotably connecting an upper portion of the element 41 to the end of the first arm 40. The lower or adjustable arm 42 is pivotably mounted at 45 to the inner channel 39 and extends through an aperture in the element 41 and receives a threaded nut 46. A spring is telescopically received on the lower arm 42 and biases the member or element 41 against the nut 46 so that the effective length of arm 42 can be changed to change the orientation of the element 41 relative to the base 36 and the side wall 16.

The inner channel 39 is detachably mounted in the base 36 which has an upstanding lip or projection 47 on the end plate 37 to retain the lower end of inner channel 39 in a nested position. A bolt or removable pin device 48, which is received in a pair of aligned holes in projections or ears .49 of base 36, entraps or maintains the upper end of the inner channel 39 in the nested position. Preferably. the upper end of the inner channel 39 is provided with a tubular socket 50, which may be formed by a tube welded to both the flange of channel 39 and the first arm 40 to receive the pin on bolt 48.

The adjustable brace 43 is illustrated as a turn buckle having one end detachably connected to an eye hook 51 provided on the side 16 of the bucket 17 and the other end detachably connected to an eye hook or pad 52 provided on a side of the channel forming element 41 at a lower portion thereof. The purpose of the adjustable brace is to adsorb any forces created during sweeping as the vehicle moves in a forward direction.

A channel member 54 is mounted on the upper end of element 41 and is provided with a support structure or pad 55 which supports a conventional hydraulic motor 56 which is coupled through a flexible coupling 57 to the shaft 31 to provide means to rotating the shaft and the broom. In addition to providing a support for the motor 56, the element 41 is provided with three bearings 58 for rotatably supporting the drive shaft with at least one of the bearings being provided with an axial thrust bearing for supporting the load of the shaft and broom.

The broom 28 and shaft 31 along with the motor 56 and portions of the mounting means form a brush or broom unit which can be easily removed from the bucket 17 by disconnecting the turn buckle 43 from the eye bolt 51 by removing the pin or bolt 48 and then pivoting or lifting the inner channel 39 to clear the lip 47. Thus, when the broom device 10 is not being used, the scoop 17 can be used for normal scooping operations. Furthermore. by providing a second base 36 and eye bolt 51' on the opposite side wall 16 of the bucket 17, the brush unit can be easily attached on either side of the bucket 17, as desired. A second pad or eye bolt similar to pad 52 is provided on the element 41 on a side opposite the pad 52.

As mentioned above, most tractors are provided with a hydraulic pump which is connected to a reservoir and has a discharge to provide hydraulic fluid under pressure. In the present invention, the standard hydraulic pump is replaced by a two-stage pump 60 which is schematically illustrated in FIG. 4 and has a drive shaft 61 connected to a motive force such as the engine of the tractor 11. The two-stage pump 60 receives a hydraulic fluid from a reservoir 62 through a passageway or conduit 63 and has a high output port 64 and a low output port 65. The high output port 64 which may deliver hydraulic fluid under pressure at a rate of 20 gallons per minute is connected by passageway or conduit 66 to the hydraulic control box 27 which controls the flow in a conventional manner to and from the hydraulic cylinders such as 23 and 26 of the boom structure. The low output port 65, which has an output of hydraulic fluid at a rate of approximately 12 gallons per minute, is connected by a conduit or passageway 67 to a broom control unit 68 which includes a broom control valve which is actuated by a lever 69.

From the broom control unit 68, a discharge line 70 returns fluid to the reservoir or sump 62. In addition thereto, a bypass conduit 71 having a pressure relief valve 72 interconnects the output line 67 to the sump 62. A pressure line 73 extends from the control unit 68 to the hydraulic motor 56 and preferably includes a detachable coupling 74. Hydraulic motor 56 is also connected by a return line 75 having a detachable coupling 76 to the reservoir 62. By positioning of the lever 69 on the control unit 68, the valve setting of the unit 68 is adjusted and determines the pressure and volume of hydraulic fluid being applied to the hydraulic motor to control the speed of rotation for the brush such as 29.

As mentioned hereinbefore, the broom device 10 of the present invention enables mechanically sweeping surfaces such as (FIG. 3) which are at a substantial elevation above the surface 91 on which the tractor or vehicle 11 is supported. By adjusting the elevation of the boom structure 19 utilizing the hydraulic cylinder such as 23, the elevation of the broom device 10 above the surface 91 can be obtained up to a limit of 8 feet. By pivoting the bucket 17 relative to the end of the boom structure 19, the cant ot pitch of the sweeping surface of the broom device 10 can be controlled or varied. In addition thereto, the adjustable link or arm 42 enables changing the particular orientation of the sweeping surface relative to the side 16 of the bucket 17.

The broom device enables mechanically sweeping the elevated surface 90 as the tractor 11 is driven along the length thereof, It should be noted that while FIG. 3 illustrates the tractor headed towards the structure having the elevated surface 90, the position of the broom device 10 on the bucket 17 enables the tractor 11 to be driven along side of the surface to be swept as the broom is accomplishing the sweeping.

Although minor modifications might be suggested by those versed in the art, it should be understood that we wish to employ within the scope of the patent granted hereon all such modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of our contribution to the art.

I claim:

1. A broom device for use on a vehicle for sweeping surfaces which are located at different elevations relative to the surface on which the vehicle is supported, the vehicle having a frame, a boom structure mounted for pivotal movement on the frame of the vehicle and having a first member pivotably mounted on a free end thereof, said boom structure including means to pivot the boom structure relative to the vehicle to raise and lower the first member and means for pivoting the first member about a pivot axis relative to the boom structure, said broom device comprising a broom mounted on an end of a drive shaft, said broom comprising a plurality of bristles terminating in a plane forming a sweeping surface extending substantially perpendicular to the drive shaft, means for rotating the drive shaft and broom and means attached to the first member for mounting the shaft for rotation, said means for mounting including a base attached to the first member and means for adjusting the orientation of the drive shaft relative to said base, said means for adjusting including an element supporting the means for rotating the drive shaft and having bearings for rotatably supporting said drive shaft, a second member supported on said base, a first arm extending from the second member and pivotably connected to the element, and an adjustable arm pivotably connected to the second member and attached to said element so that the raising and lowering of said first member by said boom structure enables sweeping surfaces located at different elevations relative to the surface on which the vehicle is supported and pivoting of said first member relative to said boom structure enables changing the angle of the sweeping surface of the broom relative to the surface being swept.

2. A broom device according to claim 1, wherein said mounting means further includes an adjustable brace extending from said element to the first member.

3. A broom device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a hydraulic pump and wherein said means for rotating is a hydraulic motor connected by conduits to the pump.

4. A broom device for use on a vehicle for sweeping surfaces which are located at different elevations relative to the surface on which the vehicle is supported, the vehicle having a frame, a boom structure mounted for pivotal movement on the frame of the vehicle and having a scoop pivotably mounted on a free end thereof, said boom structure including means to pivot the boom structure relative to the vehicle to raise and lower the scoop and means for pivoting the scoop about a pivot axis relative to the boom structure, said broom device comprising a broom mounted on an end of a drive shaft, means attached to the scoop for mounting the drive shaft for rotation and means sup ported on the mounting means for rotating the shaft and broom so that the raising and lowering of said scoop by said boom structure enables sweeping surfaces located at different elevations relative to the surface on which the vehicle is supported and pivoting of said scoop relative to said boom structure enables changing the angle of the sweeping surface of the broom relative to the surface being swept.

5. A broom device according to claim 4, wherein the broom comprises a plurality of bristles terminating in a plane forming the sweeping surface and extending substantially perpendicular to the drive shaft and wherein the mounting means includes a base attached to a side of the scoop and means for adjusting the orientation of the drive shaft relative to the base and side of the scoop.

6. A broom device according to claim 5, wherein the vehicle has means for providing a hydraulic fluid under pressure, and said means for rotating the broom comprises a hydraulic motor connected to conduits to the means for providing hydraulic fluid under pressure.

7. A broom device according to claim 6, wherein said means for providing hydraulic fluid is a two-stage pump having a low output discharge and a high output discharge, said low output discharge being connected by said conduits to the hydraulic motor and said high output discharge being connected to the means to pivot the boom structure and the means for pivoting the scoop relative to the boom structure.

8. A broom device according to claim 7, wherein the means for adjusting includes a second member detachably mounted on said base, an element supporting the hydraulic motor and having bearings for rotatably supporting said shaft, a first arm pivotably connected to the element and connected to said second member, an adjustable arm pivotably connected to said element and pivotably connected to said second member, and an adjustable brace extending from the element and detachably connected to the side of the scoop by a pivotable connection so that when the broom device is not in use, the broom, motor and adjusting means are easily removed from the side of the scoop, 

1. A broom device for use on a vehicle for sweeping surfaces which are located at different elevations relative to the surface on whiCh the vehicle is supported, the vehicle having a frame, a boom structure mounted for pivotal movement on the frame of the vehicle and having a first member pivotably mounted on a free end thereof, said boom structure including means to pivot the boom structure relative to the vehicle to raise and lower the first member and means for pivoting the first member about a pivot axis relative to the boom structure, said broom device comprising a broom mounted on an end of a drive shaft, said broom comprising a plurality of bristles terminating in a plane forming a sweeping surface extending substantially perpendicular to the drive shaft, means for rotating the drive shaft and broom and means attached to the first member for mounting the shaft for rotation, said means for mounting including a base attached to the first member and means for adjusting the orientation of the drive shaft relative to said base, said means for adjusting including an element supporting the means for rotating the drive shaft and having bearings for rotatably supporting said drive shaft, a second member supported on said base, a first arm extending from the second member and pivotably connected to the element, and an adjustable arm pivotably connected to the second member and attached to said element so that the raising and lowering of said first member by said boom structure enables sweeping surfaces located at different elevations relative to the surface on which the vehicle is supported and pivoting of said first member relative to said boom structure enables changing the angle of the sweeping surface of the broom relative to the surface being swept.
 2. A broom device according to claim 1, wherein said mounting means further includes an adjustable brace extending from said element to the first member.
 3. A broom device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a hydraulic pump and wherein said means for rotating is a hydraulic motor connected by conduits to the pump.
 4. A broom device for use on a vehicle for sweeping surfaces which are located at different elevations relative to the surface on which the vehicle is supported, the vehicle having a frame, a boom structure mounted for pivotal movement on the frame of the vehicle and having a scoop pivotably mounted on a free end thereof, said boom structure including means to pivot the boom structure relative to the vehicle to raise and lower the scoop and means for pivoting the scoop about a pivot axis relative to the boom structure, said broom device comprising a broom mounted on an end of a drive shaft, means attached to the scoop for mounting the drive shaft for rotation and means supported on the mounting means for rotating the shaft and broom so that the raising and lowering of said scoop by said boom structure enables sweeping surfaces located at different elevations relative to the surface on which the vehicle is supported and pivoting of said scoop relative to said boom structure enables changing the angle of the sweeping surface of the broom relative to the surface being swept.
 5. A broom device according to claim 4, wherein the broom comprises a plurality of bristles terminating in a plane forming the sweeping surface and extending substantially perpendicular to the drive shaft and wherein the mounting means includes a base attached to a side of the scoop and means for adjusting the orientation of the drive shaft relative to the base and side of the scoop.
 6. A broom device according to claim 5, wherein the vehicle has means for providing a hydraulic fluid under pressure, and said means for rotating the broom comprises a hydraulic motor connected to conduits to the means for providing hydraulic fluid under pressure.
 7. A broom device according to claim 6, wherein said means for providing hydraulic fluid is a two-stage pump having a low output discharge and a high output discharge, said low output discharge being connected by said conduits to the hydraulic motor and said high output discharge being connected to the means to pivot thE boom structure and the means for pivoting the scoop relative to the boom structure.
 8. A broom device according to claim 7, wherein the means for adjusting includes a second member detachably mounted on said base, an element supporting the hydraulic motor and having bearings for rotatably supporting said shaft, a first arm pivotably connected to the element and connected to said second member, an adjustable arm pivotably connected to said element and pivotably connected to said second member, and an adjustable brace extending from the element and detachably connected to the side of the scoop by a pivotable connection so that when the broom device is not in use, the broom, motor and adjusting means are easily removed from the side of the scoop. 